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| Sunday, 8 February 2004 |
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Promoting EU-Sri Lanka trade ties by Elmo Leonard Colin Bell and Ms Christina Soderstrom from Sweden, were in Sri Lanka last week, together with delegates from other EU nations, to lay the foundation for trade links between private sector companies in Sri Lanka and European nations. They were amazed at the response of 50 local companies who wanted to establish links with them, when all they expected was, about five to ten local corporates, to show interest Bell said, "We have seen no adverse political happenings within the country, during a weeks stay here." The sensation seeking Swedish media had blown happenings in Sri Lanka, out of proportion, they said. They will be back in June, for what will be known as the biggest one-to-one EU-Sri Lanka business matchmaking event. Both are here for the first time. But, Christina claimed that she had much to do with Sri Lanka, meaning that her sister-in-law, who lives in Sweden is Lankan and she has raised two children from the north of the island. The EU, an expanding trade bloc, which aims at trade among themselves, to upgrade the region and solve employment problems among member nations, also has an `Asia Invest' programme. Bell said: "We are all non-politically oriented in our approach to dealings in Sri Lanka." Bell, is the business advisor to his company, Euro Info Centre, situated far away from the capital, Stockholm and Christina is its managing director. The identified fields are IT, food, leisure, educational services and infrastructure, as the likely ones, the local companies would do best, with theirs. Human contact with Sri Lankan companies and those in the EU, is what is most important, they said. "We have to meet people and form our opinions of possible links," Christina said. They assured that the mass linking of EU and Sri Lankan companies, expected in June, would not be confined to selling EU products here. The Europeans would like to enter into joint ventures, technical cooperation, interchange of technology and a whole avenue of possibilities, they said. |
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